Arranged Love ch1
by Jessb89
Summary: Erik finds the girl of his dreams and is willing to do anything to make her his. He is tired of living in the shadows and the background of his loves life. It was time for Erik to become front and center, to be the most important person in her life. No more hiding, no more unrequited love... she would learn to love him.


**Evelyn**

The morning was quiet, everything was still and calm, just as it always was when Evelyn took her jogs in the morning. This was her favorite time of day, when the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon and the colors on the beautiful canvas that was the sky began to change from black and dark blue to purples, pinks and oranges. She wished that the sky could look that way all of the time but even though it didn't, one of the true beauties of life was that it all happened again the next day. The days continued in a never ending blur of time and and events.

As much as Evelyn loved her life, she always looked forward to this time when she could be by herself in the still of the morning. This hour was the only time she had to herself, with no company except her thoughts and the sounds of her feet pounding the pavement. It was the perfect time for her to clear her thoughts and spend some time reflecting in the beauty of another day alive. During this time she was able to say her morning prayers and contemplate her days scriptures.

She had been running for as long as she could remember. When she was about eight, she had gotten tired of everyone talking about the fact that she was over weight and how it could cause her to have poor health later on. So,when a doctor suggested that she try running, she gave it a shot... and she hadn't stopped since.

Eleven years later, Evelyn was still running. It had become part of her life, part of her routine. To Evelyn running was the same as brushing her teeth, eating or even breathing. The doctor had been right, she lost the weight and she had gained some muscle in her legs. The guys at school were always trying to flirt with her, commenting on her legs and trim body but she always ignored them. Even at nineteen she wasn't all that interested in boys. She spent her time focusing on her family, her education and her friends. She didn't have time for anything else.

She ran the same route every morning, had been for more then a decade. She knew this area like the back of her hand, probably could have run this way with her eyes closed with no problem. She ran by the same houses and saw the same people every morning. So she should have noticed the white van parked outside her house, that had never been there before. She should have noticed when the van started and followed her through her entire jog but she was so caught up in the beauty of the morning, in her thoughts, and the sound of Michael Crawford's amazing voice playing through her ear buds that the van went completely unnoticed even as it edged closer and closer to her.

She stopped at the corner of Morris Ave and Main Street as she did every morning to catch her breath and grab a quick gulp of water and didn't notice when the van slid to a stop a couple feet behind her and didn't even know that anything was wrong until a hand came around from behind her placing a cloth over her face as a second hand wrapped around her from behind.

Without even realizing what she was doing she took in a big breathe of air in order to let out a scream and in doing so breathed in the fumes of the chloroform. She was out within minutes and was only vaguely aware of being thrown into the back of the van before it sped off down the street.

**Erik**

He couldn't believe it, the day was finally here. After all these years of lurking in the shadows like a thief he was finally going to be seen, to be heard. It had been eight years, he had spent eight years watching the love of his life go through her life without knowing that he even existed but after today things would be different. He had spent the passed year planning this day, he had agonized over the details making sure that each and every aspect of his plan was set perfectly.

It's unbelievable the things one could do when they had money to spend. It hadn't been nearly as hard as he had thought it would be to find someone to the actual abduction. At first Erik had considered doing it himself but knew how glaringly he would stand out with this damned mask on his face so he had decided to hire someone to do it for him.

He had met with and spoke to countless thugs and hoodlums until he found the right person to set this up and who would follow his plan step by step. Everything had to be perfect...this would be the beginning of their life together.

It had been eight years since the first time he saw her. He had been in New York at the time on business, overseeing the construction of a new building in Manhattan. She had been there on vacation with her family. From the first moment he laid eyes on her she had taken is breath away and he been unable to think about anything else since. After that he had followed her and her family for an entire week, throughout their entire vacation. He followed her to every restaurant, every landmark, every play on Broadway. He had ignored everything else for the rest of the week, leaving Alfred, his butler and confidant in charge of the construction site.

She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She was petite... a small little thing. She couldn't have weighed more than 110 pounds and was only as tall as his shoulders. She had long brown hair that curled at the tips and these beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Her face was like an open doorway to her mind, every one of her emotions played out on her face. He learned to read her expressions and could asses her moods but what he loved most was when she laughed, it lit up her whole face making her even more beautiful as if that were possible. He couldn't wait to be on the receiving end of that laugh, to be the one to make her laugh.

He had followed her family to the airport then had paid an outrageous amount of money to get onto their flight back to their hometown. He had been watching her ever since. He had considered selling his home in France and buying one there but he knew that he had to work if he wanted to provide for her and be a worthy husband for her someday so for the last eight years he had traveled back and forth between France and her small town every other month.

She had grown up right before his eyes, had matured into a beautiful young woman who he fell more and more in love with every time he laid his eyes on her. He had been there through every big event of her life. He was there when she moved from middle school to high school, when her dog that she had gotten when she was a little girl had to be put down, when she tripped during one of her runs and broke her leg, when her grand mother passed away, and on the day of her graduation. He had even been there when the boys had started to come around, those times had been hard on him but he was delighted when he realized that she had no interest in the young men who came around. She was more interested in her schooling and her family although he liked to imagine that subconsciously she knew that she had a future with him and that's why she never went out with any of those young men.

This day had been a long time coming and he couldn't wait to get her back home...to their home and to start his life with her. He knew that it wouldn't be easy, that she would resist but he was ready for the challenge. After all they were meant to be together.


End file.
